治禪病祕要法 2

English (machine translation) 2

Language: English

2.1

Translated by the Song dynasty lay devotee Juqu Jingsheng

"Furthermore, Śāriputra! If any of the four assemblies delights in musical entertainment and indulges in singing without satiety, thereby agitating the wind [element]—like an unfettered horse, like an autumn dog, or like an eṇeya deer king—infatuated and foolish, their minds like birdlime, attached wherever they go and impossible to restrain, they must be cured quickly.

2.4

"The method of curing it is: first visualize a celestial maiden of matchless beauty, with musical instruments spontaneously appearing in her hands, emitting myriad kinds of musical sounds. When the practitioner sees her, he sees this heavenly maiden exceeding worldly beauty by a hundred billion myriad times, and hears this heavenly music as matchless in the world; thereby he becomes infatuated, gazing at her beauty and listening to her sounds. Therefore, he should be instructed to contemplate the spheres of experience arising from this woman's six sense faculties. By the power of counting the breath, he sees six poisonous snakes produced from her lovely eyes, issuing from her eye faculties and entering her ear faculties. He further sees two birds resembling horned owls letting out great, dreadful screeches, breaking open her head, tearing out her brain, and scrambling to eat it. In her other four faculties, he sees cats, rats, dogs, and jackals scrambling to eat [her flesh]. Thereby he gets to see all female beauty as thirty-six impure and filthy things: the womb's roundworms serve as the woman's necklace, and the various musical instruments held by the woman are seen writhing in excrement, with vermin drumming and making jackal cries; the monstrosities she speaks cannot be listened to, sounding like the wailing of rākṣasas. He thereby develops aversion. He should go to a wise one, confess the evil and unwholesome deeds done previously, and sincerely repent. The wise one should instruct him in the contemplation of impermanence."

2.5

[The Buddha] told Śāriputra: "Receive well this method for curing [delight in] music, and be careful not to forget it."

2.6

Then Śāriputra, Ānanda, and the others, hearing what the Buddha had taught, rejoiced and undertook to practice it.

2.7

Method for Curing Fondness for Chanting, Gāthās, and Hymns of Praise

2.8

"Furthermore, Śāriputra! If a practitioner is fond of composing verses and chanting praises in melodious tones, like the wind rustling the leaves of a sāla tree to produce gentle and elegant sounds, his voice pleasing to the ears of others like a Brahmā voice, uttering agreeable phrases to bring them joy—and because of this wind reverberation, he becomes arrogant and conceited, his mind like tangled weeds, drifting uncontrollably in every direction with the wind of afflictions, raising the banner of pride, beating the drum of self-aggrandizement, and playing with his channels so that he goes mad—like a foolish monkey gathering flowers and fruits, his mind without even momentary rest, unable to count the breath—he must be cured quickly.

2.9

"The method of curing it is: he should first visualize a high banner of the seven treasures, with a gandharva atop the banner whose body is like white jade, moving his body and chanting verses of praise, with large lotus flowers emerging from the pores of his body, and hundreds of thousands of bhikṣus atop the lotus flowers emitting myriad kinds of sounds, surpassing his own by a hundred thousand myriad times. Thereby his arrogance will gradually subside.

2.10

"The wise one should further instruct the practitioner to contemplate intently the top of the banner, seeing a clear crystal mirror atop it. Those bhikṣus who were arrogant because of their voices and whose minds were impure are transformed into rākṣasas emitting loud and dreadful cries, with fire issuing from their mouths. Furthermore, yakṣas arrive from the four quarters, pulling out their tongues and ripping out their hearts to place them atop the banner; their hearts tremble, crying out and shrieking like the roar of a drunken elephant, or in faint voices like the moaning of piśācas. Thereby he further hears all melodious sounds as though someone were calling out the names of his parents and heaping unprincipled abuse upon them; thereby he develops aversion, his ears taking no delight in hearing them, producing thoughts of revulsion. The wise one should then instruct him to contemplate the eight sufferings, as described in the contemplation of the eight sufferings."

2.11

[The Buddha] told Śāriputra: "Receive well this method for curing [fondness for] chanting, gāthās, and hymns of praise, and be careful not to forget it."

2.12

Then Śāriputra, Ānanda, and the others, hearing what the Buddha had taught, rejoiced and undertook to practice it.

2.13

Curing Diarrhea Caused by the Violent Excess of the Water Element

2.14

"Furthermore, Śāriputra! If any of the four assemblies enters the water samādhi, with water emerging all over the body so that neither body nor mind is seen, just like a great ocean, and upon emerging from samādhi, food and drink are unpalatable, they suffer from heat beneath the heart, their water channels surge with agitation, and they suffer from unceasing diarrhea, they must be cured quickly.

2.15

"The method of curing it is: visualize a garuḍa on which a bhikṣu rides, roaming fearlessly across the great ocean, while all the nāgas and rākṣasas flee in terror. The bird takes nāgas to eat; out of fear, the nāgas drink up all the water, transforming into four snakes. The garuḍa king holds the four snakes in its beak, and the bhikṣu seated atop it searches for water but cannot find any. Fire issues from the garuḍa king's eyes to burn the snakes, and the snakes are terrified—disappearing like an illusory person created by an illusionist—and enter the bhikṣu's body. Upon emerging from this samādhi, he should take worldly medicine that stops diarrhea. He should visualize two fire jewels: one in the stomach pipe warming all the channels, and one at the anus shaped like a hot stone. He should visualize a deity of the Snow Mountains named Uttaga, whose body is sixty feet tall and white as a shell or snow, holding a fragrant medicine named Sahanaga to bestow upon the practitioner. When taking this medicine, he should first generate the unexcelled mind of bodhi. Having taken this medicine once, the four hundred and four illnesses will never stir for the rest of his life, how much less diarrhea!

2.16

"If he wishes to make that deity come quickly, he should wash and bathe cleanly, not eat the five pungent roots, not drink liquor, not eat meat, and in a quiet and secluded place single-mindedly count the breath, recite the name of that deity, and visualize that deity's image. In one to seven days, the great deity of the Snow Mountains along with the twelve White Light Deities will arrive before the practitioner. First he will expound the Dharma for him, then bestow the medicine, and further instruct him in the twelve doors of dhyāna. Those deities are all great bodhisattvas of the fifth ground.

2.17

"If someone is ill, he should first be mindful of that deity Uttaraga, and next be mindful of the twelve White Light Deities: the Heroic Deity, the Mighty Deity, the Valiant Deity, the Wisdom-Practice Deity, the Sovereign Deity, the Good-Armed Deity, the Kumāra Deity, the Invincible Deity, the White Light Deity, the White Light King Deity, and the Bhaiṣajyarāja Deity. Having seen them, he should ask each deity about different Dharma gates. Those deities will first enable the practitioner to see Maitreya Bodhisattva; in the presence of Maitreya Bodhisattva, he will see all bodhisattvas such as Mañjuśrī, as well as the Buddhas of the ten directions.

2.18

"If this person has not breached the four heavy prohibitions in past lives and does not break the four heavy prohibitions in his present life, upon seeing these deities he will immediately see the traces of the Path. If he has breached the precepts, these deity kings will instruct him to repent; when a full thousand days have elapsed, only then will he get to see Maitreya Bodhisattva, Mañjuśrī, and other mahāsattvas, and subsequently attain the traces of the Path."

2.19

[The Buddha] told Śāriputra: "If a practitioner suffers from diarrhea caused by water, agitating the four hundred and four illnesses, and wishes to cure it, he should quickly take such medicines as Sahanaga; it will eliminate the illness without trouble, extinguish the ocean of karmic obstacles, and cause him swiftly to see the traces of the Path. Therefore, you all should receive and maintain it well, and be careful not to forget it."

2.20

Then Śāriputra, Ānanda, and the others, hearing what the Buddha had taught, rejoiced and undertook to practice it.

2.21

Method for Curing Headache, Eye Pain, and Deafness Caused by the Fire Element

2.22

"Furthermore, Śāriputra! If a practitioner enters the fire samādhi, flames blaze from joint to joint, and fire flares up in the large and small intestines simultaneously, burning and agitating the fire channels. Upon emerging from samādhi, he has a slight headache, his channels contract and twitch, his eyes become bloodshot, and his ears go deaf. Since illness has arisen from this, it must be cured quickly.

2.23

"The method of curing it is: first visualize a vaiḍūrya vat containing water of various colors and growing various jewel flowers, atop which are hundreds of thousands of transformed Buddhas. The transformed bodhisattvas each emit [rays from their] ūrṇās to illuminate all the flames, causing the flames to turn into golden dragons. When the practitioner sees this, he gives rise to joy. He visualizes placing the vat beneath the fire, with the flower terrace above. Going to the Buddha's presence, he grasps the vat with his hands, and his hands immediately feel cool; thereupon he throws his whole body beside the vat and pays homage to the Buddha. He then sees the transformed Buddha emit light from between his eyebrows, raining drops of amṛta that sprinkle across all his joints; wherever a drop falls transforms into vaiḍūrya, thereby irrigating the large intestine. The large and small intestines become filled with amṛta, the fire gradually subsides, and various jewel flowers grow, emitting light of red and white colors.

2.24

"He should further visualize a Maheśvara riding a golden ox, carrying a jewel vase of water to the practitioner's presence, the water containing various medicines named 'Poison-Destroyer,' which he has the practitioner drink. Furthermore, holding a jewel named candramani (in the language of Song, 'moon essence'), he places it upon his crown, and it flows with various medicines pouring into the ears, eyes, and nose; upon seeing it just once, he is immediately healed. Maheśvara—who is a great bodhisattva constantly disporting himself in the śūraṅgama samādhi—thereupon emits great light from between his eyebrows, transforming into the form of a Buddha, with five hundred ṛṣis attending upon the Bhagavat, expounding to the practitioner the gate of amṛta and the method for curing illness."

2.25

[The Buddha] told Śāriputra: "Receive and maintain this well, and be careful not to forget it."

2.26

Then Śāriputra, Ānanda, and the others, hearing what the Buddha had taught, rejoiced and undertook to practice it.

2.27

Method for Curing Fear and Loss of Mind from Seeing Inauspicious Matters upon Entering the Earth Samādhi

2.28

"Furthermore, Śāriputra! If a practitioner enters the earth samādhi and sees black mountains on the four sides, and between the crags of these mountains there are limitless and boundless kumbhāṇḍas squatting on earthen mounds, displaying hideous forms with the tips of their genital organs exposed; and further there are five mountains, and yakṣas come vying with one another to seize those mountains, and the kumbhāṇḍas are in severe distress, terrified, uttering loud, evil cries and coming toward the practitioner's location; and he further sees ghosts with disheveled hair holding large iron clubs with mountains at their tips, arriving at the practitioner's location; and he further sees yakṣas shouldering mountains and dancing; and rākṣasas carrying trees to where the yakṣas are, where the rākṣasas, full of wrath, fight with the yakṣas; and piśāca ghosts wearing black mountains on their heads and holding dead tigers in their mouths:

2.29

"When the practitioner sees this, his heart is terrified and his hair stands on end. Because of his terror, the rākṣasas rage with fierce power and fight with the yakṣas. The rākṣasas are victorious; they sever the yakṣas' heads, use the piśācas' hands and feet as necklaces, and use the kumbhāṇḍas' genital organs as flower garlands, drumming and dancing on the ground before him, with canine teeth protruding upward like the branches of a sword tree, and hail raining from their eyes, thunderbolts and fire blazing forth. Then the yakṣas are victorious again; they strike and seize the rākṣasas, flay the skin from their faces, gouge out their female genitals, sever the kumbhāṇḍas' genital organs, and use the piśācas' hands and feet as flower garlands, threading them through their ears and around their necks, drumming and dancing on the ground before him, shaking their bodies and shouting loudly, uttering great, evil cries that are terrifying indeed.

2.30

"He further sees Vimalocī, mother born of the four great ocean gods, lying on her back on the ocean water—having a thousand heads, each with two thousand hands and feet—stretching her body in four directions, displaying her female genitals, rugged and terrifying like mountains smeared with blood. Her evil hairs are shaped like sword trees, among which grows a single tree like a forest of knife-mountains, from within which emerge hundreds of thousands of limitless ghosts with donkey ears, ox heads, lion mouths, horse legs, wolf tails, and kumbhāṇḍa genitals. He further sees a great nāga with hundreds of thousands of heads, several tens of yojanas long, emerging from within it. He sees a ghost resembling a hundred beasts, in the form of a lion, with ten thousand legs, between whose claws are countless hundreds of thousands of venomous snakes, emerging from within it. He further sees a hungry ghost, ten billion yojanas tall, spitting poison and vomiting fire, shouldering mountains, emerging from within it. He further sees a thousand wolves with connected tails and distinct bodies, their fangs like sharp stones, emerging from within it. He further sees a thousand tigers whose tails also have heads, their bodies joined together, walking sideways, emerging from within it. He further sees a nāga maiden adorned with necklaces, highly pleasing to the eye, emerging from within it. Yakṣas take and devour her; and leopard cats, house mice, monkeys, jackals, fox spirits, evil ghosts, and all manner of fierce beasts all emerge from within it. The spirit of Mount Wojiao of the Avīci Hell, the spirits of the eighteen hells, nine hundred million ox-headed Avīci tormentors, eighty billion hungry ghosts, one hundred billion latrine worms, and fifty billion roundworms—such various transforming manifestations, vile ghosts and spirits, either hold knife-mountains, grasp sword trees, shake Mount Sumeru, or move Mount Cakravāḍa, Mount Yugandhara, and so forth.

2.31

"The practitioner sees his own body fill the great earth, his three hundred and thirty-six joints all like high mountains reaching to the formless realm, with water emerging from the navel. Four great venomous snakes disport in the water, fire issuing from their mouths; ten evil rākṣasas run within the fire, wind emerging from their ears and wind emerging from their anuses, blowing and shaking the mountains; all the ghosts and spirits come glaring, dismembering his joints.

2.32

"Because of this, the practitioner becomes terrified and prone to developing mad sickness. If he sees such things, he must quickly cure them.

2.33

"The method of curing it is: first visualize one sun, with the sun deity riding a palace of the four precious gems and playing hundreds of thousands of kinds of instrumental music, atop the black mountain, shining upon the black mountain and causing it gradually to brighten. When the visualization of one sun is complete, next visualize a second sun. Having visualized two suns, he should further contemplate his own body's white bones, the three hundred and thirty-six joints being as white as snow mountains, with the suns illuminating the snow mountains; next visualize that above his crown is the moon deity's palace of the four precious gems, with hundreds of thousands of retinue members holding a moon jewel and placing it upon his head. When this visualization is complete, visualize that atop the third mountain there is again another sun, no different from before; having seen this sun, next visualize that above the white snow mountain of his crown bone, as before, there is again another moon. Having seen this moon, next visualize that atop the fourth mountain there is again another sun illuminating this black mountain; having seen this sun, he should visualize that the white-bone mountains of his body's three hundred and thirty-six joints all have their corners facing each other (the four corners all oppose one another), and between each corner there is a moon light. The deity holds two jewels in his hands, supporting them in both directions. In this way, between every corner of all the joints, the mind should be stilled, and for the duration of ten inhalations and exhalations, he should contemplate clearly and distinctly, seeing that each individual bone has the twenty-eight lunar mansions, bright, pure, and delightful, like the jewels of the seven treasures.

2.34

"When this visualization is complete, next visualize a garuḍa king wearing a maṇi jewel on its head, striking and seizing four snakes and six nāgas, so that the snakes are startled and the nāgas flee. The ghosts and spirits of the mountains are startled and unsettled all at once, appearing black in color—all of which are the karmic retributions of breaking the precepts in previous lives—and he must diligently repent and purify his śīla. Because the śīla is pure, the radiance of the suns and moons becomes twice as distinct and clear; if his mind conceives evil, his mouth utters evil words, or he commits a duṣkṛta offense, then black dirt rains down upon the maṇi jewel, dust obscures the suns and moons, and the constellations do not move. The asura king with nine hundred and ninety-nine hands and a thousand heads appears all at once, obscuring the suns, moons, and constellations so that they do not appear. This is called regress, being plundered by the knife of an evil mind, the fire of an evil mouth, and the thieves of broken precepts.

2.35

"If one wishes to ingest this supreme medicine of amṛta, one should first uphold the precepts, purify the deportments, and repent karmic hindrances and evil, unwholesome transgressions. Furthermore, one should fix the mind and tether the attention, sitting upright in one place, counting the breaths and holding the breath, contemplating the three hundred and thirty-six joints as before, causing the corners of each joint to face one another. The constellations, moons, and the like are also as described above. The mind becomes clear and sharp again, seeing that between each joint the moonlight is like clothing and the starlight is like thread, stitching and holding them together; he sees four suns rise, and two-thirds of the water of the four great oceans decreases; he sees five suns rise, Mount Sumeru completely melts, and the great oceans dry up; he sees six suns rise, visualizing these mountains gradually melting away; he sees seven suns rise, and the great earth blazes brightly. The ghosts and rākṣasas fly and remain in the air up to the desire realm, followed by banners of fire; they reach the form realm, and the fire follows there too; when they wish to go to the formless realm, their hands and feet scorch and shrivel, and they fall into the mass of fire, their terrifying roars shaking the great earth (when entering this samādhi, the great earth slightly trembles like a turning cartwheel).

2.36

"He must quickly hold the mind, visualizing the three hundred and thirty-six joints as vajra mountains, lovely in appearance, surpassing Mount Sumeru, which earth, water, fire, and wind cannot shake, seeing only the four snakes holding maṇi jewels in their mouths among the bone mountains. At that time, he should first visualize the shadow of the Buddha, seeing the vajra boundary, where at the tip of a vajra banner there is a maṇi mirror, and the shadows of the seven past Buddhas appear reflected in the mirror. Furthermore, he should carefully contemplate the white ūrṇā between the eyebrows of Vipaśyin Buddha, the white ūrṇā between the eyebrows of Śikhin Buddha, the white ūrṇā between the eyebrows of Tiṣya Buddha, the white ūrṇā between the eyebrows of Krakucchanda Buddha, the white ūrṇā between the eyebrows of Kanakamuni Buddha, the white ūrṇā between the eyebrows of Kāśyapa Buddha, and the white ūrṇā between the eyebrows of Śākyamuni Buddha, seeing that the white ūrṇās between the eyebrows of the seven Buddhas are like crystal, their water extremely pure and cool, washing between the joints. The three hundred and thirty-six joints, washed by the water of the white ūrṇās, become dazzlingly white, pure, and exquisite, like crystal mirrors, beyond compare.

2.37

"Due to this, he further sees five vajra wheels at the tips of seven-jewel banners, emerging from below and whirling in the air, expounding the meaning of the four noble truths. Though seeing and hearing this, with single-minded focus he contemplates the white-bone mountains of his body, and immediately sees Śākyamuni Buddha pouring water from a water vase onto his crown; the other six Buddhas do likewise.

2.38

"At that time, Śākyamuni Buddha addresses him, saying: 'Son of the Dharma! Form, feeling, perception, volitional formations, and consciousness are suffering, empty, impermanent, and non-self; you should contemplate them carefully.' He also expounds to him at length emptiness, signlessness, non-action, and wishlessness, stating that the body is empty and quiescent, the four great elements have no master, and the five aggregates have no home, being ultimately extinguished and quiescent, identical to empty space. Due to this, he instantly awakens to the impermanence and destruction of the world, and contemplates the four true truths; within the span of five inhalations and exhalations, he breaks twenty billion blazing fetters and becomes a srotāpanna; within the span of ten inhalations and exhalations, he escapes the currents of desire and becomes a sakṛdāgāmin; within the span of ten inhalations and exhalations, he severs the dull afflictions, the afflictions of the desire and form realms, and the roots of all fetters, no longer returning to the desire realm and becoming an anāgāmin; within the span of ten breaths, he disports in the empty Dharma, his mind without attachment or hindrance, abiding in the thirty-four mental states, liberation from the ten roots without destruction or decay, crushing the mountain of ninety-eight latent afflictions. Great, valiant generals and wisdom-light Dharma banners arrive from the four directions; vajra jewel thrones emerge from below, bumping against one another and expounding the empty Dharma; five vajra wheels abide beside his left knee, naturally expounding the nine unimpeded paths and the eight liberations; past śrāvakas all enter the vaiḍūrya samādhi and stand before him; Śākyamuni Buddha widely proclaims for him the realms, meanings, and tastes of the vajropama-samādhi. Thereupon, quiescently seeing neither body nor mind, he enters the vajra samādhi. Arising from the vajra samādhi, the mountain of fetters collapses, the roots of defilements are cut off, the river of ignorance dries up, and the servant of aging and death is extinguished; rebirth is completely exhausted, the holy life is established, like refined pure gold untainted by desires, and what was to be done has been done—this is called a great arhat.

2.39

"If one has generated the mind of supreme bodhi, when first seeing the light of the seven Buddhas' white ūrṇās shining, the light of each Tathāgata's white ūrṇā divides into ten branches, transforming into ten jewel flowers, jewel trees, and jewel platforms arrayed in the air. At that time, the Buddhas of the ten directions also emit light and water, as described above, washing between the joints; within the light of each Buddha's white ūrṇā, they expound the eighteen Dharma doors of loving-kindness, the eighteen Dharma doors of great compassion, the eighteen Dharma doors of great sympathetic joy, and the eighteen Dharma doors of great equanimity. Having gradually increased their instruction, they cultivate the four immeasurables; having completed the four immeasurables, they expound for him the ten kinds of bright mind; having completed the bright mind, they instruct that form is emptiness and that emptiness is not the annihilation of form; having contemplated emptiness, they instruct in the six dharmas of a bodhisattva; having practiced the six dharmas, he practices the six mindfulnesses, being mindful of the Buddha's dharmakāya; having been mindful of the Buddha's dharmakāya, he gives rise to the mind of dedication; when dedication is accomplished, he establishes the four great vows not to abandon sentient beings; when the four vows are accomplished, he possesses the bodhisattva precepts; when the bodhisattva precepts are accomplished, he trains in and cultivates the conformity dāna-pāramitā; when dāna-pāramitā is accomplished, he trains in and cultivates the conformity ten pāramitās.

2.40

"When this visualization is complete, he contemplates internal emptiness and external emptiness, whereupon hundreds of thousands of limitless Buddhas appear before him, pouring water upon his crown, binding silk ribbons to his head, and expounding for him the empty Dharma. By means of the mind of emptiness, he awakens and enters the bodhisattva stage; this is called the stage of nature—the initial realm of a bodhisattva. (Regarding this method, one often conceives haughty pride; one should recognize it, for this is the sign of the initial realm of the bodhi-mind.)"

2.41

The Buddha told Śāriputra: "This is called the method of curing the earth samādhi's haughty pride and extinguishing the terrifying signs of the mother of ignorance and the three poisons. You should receive and uphold it well; be careful not to forget it."

2.42

At that time, Śāriputra, Ānanda, and the others, hearing what the Buddha said, rejoiced and practiced accordingly.

2.43

Method of Curing the Wind Element

2.44

"Furthermore, Śāriputra! If a practitioner enters the wind samādhi, they see from their own body's nine apertures five-colored winds emerging like [rushing streams through] a great mountain valley. They also see the three hundred and thirty-six joints of their own body as white as a snowy mountain, and from joint to joint winds emerge with various vetālas (a vetāla is a corpse-raising demon). The vetālas hold iron rods in their hands, wear necklaces made of a thousand skulls, and, along with ninety-eight kinds of nāgas and ghosts, approach the practitioner. When the practitioner sees this, their heart is terrified and their hair stands on end; because of this they go mad or develop white leprosy. One must treat it swiftly.

2.45

"The method for treating it: one should first visualize the four great ṛṣis of the Snowy Mountains and the Fragrant Mountains, all of whom are great bodhisattvas. One should imagine those ṛṣis to have golden-colored bodies sixteen zhang tall, holding a flower in one hand and a vajra wheel in the other, and holding fragrant medicines in their mouths, shielding and protecting the practitioner so that the wind does not rise. The ṛṣis hold flowers and chant over the water that emerges, and nāgas completely suck up all the winds; the nāgas' bodies swell up large, and lying down to sleep on the ground they are completely unable to get up. One should visualize these nāgas as being like banana trees, wrapped layer upon layer of skin, unable to draw breath."

2.46

At that time, the Bhagavat spoke a mantra, saying:

2.48

At that time, after the Bhagavat had spoken this mantra, he said to Śāriputra: "Such a divine mantra was spoken by immeasurable past Buddhas, is spoken by me now in the present, and will also be proclaimed by the Bodhisattva Maitreya of the Bhadrakalpa in the future. The merit of such a divine mantra is like Maheśvara; it can cause bad monks during the latter five hundred years to attain a purified mind, to harmonize and properly cure the excess and deficiency of the four great elements, and also to cure the four hundred and four illnesses within the mind, the states arising from the four hundred and four channels, the seeds of the ninety-eight proclivities of sexual desire, and also cure karmic hindrances and the evil of breaking precepts, ending them forever without remainder. This is called the 'Dhāraṇī for Properly Curing the Seventy-Two Illnesses, Worries, and Afflictions', also called the 'Dhāraṇī for Pulling Out the Five Aggregates and the Root of Ignorance', and also called 'Seeing in Person All Buddhas and Śrāvakas Preaching the True Dharma to Destroy All Defilements'."

2.49

At that time, the Bhagavat spoke verses, saying:

2.50

"The nature of phenomena has nothing on which it relies;
Contemplating emptiness is also like this.
If one can contemplate the four elements,
One will not be killed by the proclivities.
Taking medicine, practicing dhyāna-concentration,
Reciting this dhāraṇī,
And single-mindedly recollecting the Buddhas,
The proclivities will never arise again.
The ocean of afflictions is forever exhausted,
The river of affection and desire is severed;
All desires have no cause,
And one declares oneself to be liberated.
Free from affliction, the mind is tranquil,
Sporting in the six supernormal knowledges,
And also with this dhāraṇī,
One instructs others."

2.51

At that time, after the Bhagavat had spoken these verses, he said to Śāriputra: "You should know now that after my nirvāṇa, if in future ages there are monks, nuns, upāsakas, or upāsikās who are able to hear this extremely profound, secret, and essential Dharma of pure śīla and the recipes for various illnesses in practicing dhyāna-concentration—this Supreme Banner of the King of Light Dhāraṇī—you should know that this person has not planted roots of goodness under one Buddha, two Buddhas, three, four, or five Buddhas, but has cultivated the mind of the three types of bodhi under immeasurable hundreds of thousands of Buddhas for a long time, and now is able to hear this extremely profound, secret essential [teaching]. Practicing according to what is taught, you should know that this person is in their final body; like a swift torrent of water, they will swiftly attain the four fruits of the recluse and the bodhisattva practice."

2.52

When the Buddha spoke these words, five hundred Śākyas advanced doubly and became endowed with the six supernormal knowledges; one thousand śūdras in the city of Śrāvastī who had gone mad from practicing dhyāna in past lives immediately gave rise to joy upon hearing what the Buddha said and attained srotāpanna; eighty billion devas cured their diseases of the four great elements, their bodies and minds free from affliction, and right then gave rise to the aspiration for unsurpassed bodhi, universally raining heavenly flowers to scatter over the Buddha and the great assembly.

2.53

At that time, the eight classes of devas, nāgas, and spirits in the assembly heard what the Buddha said, and with one voice they spoke these words: "The Tathāgata's appearance in the world is precisely to cure these practitioners afflicted by madness, evil, and wrong views by rākṣasas, causing them to attain their original minds, like a beautiful flower-banner exceedingly delightful. Excellent, World-Honoured One! Like an udumbara flower, appearing only once in a great while."

2.54

Then the great assembly praised him in verse, saying:

2.55

"Crown Prince of the Solar Race,
Descendant of the Ikṣvāku line,
Nephew of the Moon of Starlight,
Son of Queen Māyā.
At birth you took seven steps,
Your tread shook the great trichiliocosm;
All spirits of the ten directions responded,
With thirty-two auspicious signs.
You cast away the kingdom like spittle,
Sat beneath the pippala tree,
In the supreme vajra bodhimaṇḍa,
Subduing tens of billions of māras.
You attained the path of bodhi,
Your face pure as the full moon,
Stains of the mind forever extinguished;
We now single-mindedly bow in homage.
Most supreme among all Śākyas,
Endowed with supreme compassion,
You are able to cause all sentient beings
To forever escape the suffering of birth and death."

2.56

At that time, after the Bhagavat heard the fourfold assembly speak these verses, he once again earnestly extended his golden hand to touch the heads of Śāriputra and Ānanda, entrusting this matter to them.

2.57

Then Śāriputra, Ānanda, and the rest of the great assembly, having heard what the Buddha said, rejoiced and carried it out.

2.58

The Method for Curing Various Forms of Unease and Inability to Attain Samādhi Due to Possession by Demonic Spirits in Beginners Learning to Sit (Inquired by the Venerable Ānanda)

2.59

Thus have I heard:

2.60

At one time the Buddha was in Śrāvastī, at the Jeta Grove, Anāthapiṇḍada's Park, at the dwelling place of the Nalīra spirit, in the lecture hall built by Queen Mallikā. One thousand sons of elders, such as Raśmiguhya and others, had just renounced the household life and requested the Venerable Ānanda, Mahākāśyapa, Śāriputra, and others to be their upādhyāyas; Mahākāśyapa was teaching the thousand monks counting the breath in a quiet place.

2.61

[Some of them were] possessed by demonic spirits, seeing a spirit with a face like a pipa lute, four eyes, and two mouths, its entire face emitting light; with its hands it poked and tickled their armpits and other body parts, crying out from its mouth: "Duti! Duti!" Like a spinning wheel of fire, like a flash of lightning, now appearing, now disappearing, causing the practitioner's mind to find no peace.

2.62

If one sees this, one must treat it urgently. The method for treating it: instruct this practitioner that when Duti comes, they should single-mindedly close their eyes and secretly scold it, speaking these words: 'I recognize you now; I know that you are the fire-eating, scent-smiffing vetāla of this Jambudvīpa. You are of wrong views and take pleasure in destroying the seed of precepts. I uphold the precepts now; I will never fear you.'

2.63

If one is a monastic, one should recite the preface to the Prātimokṣa; if a householder, one should recite the Three Refuges, the Five Precepts, or the Eight Precepts; the ghost will then step backward and crawl away.

2.64

At that time, Ānanda, having heard these words, said to the Buddha: "World-Honoured One! Now these monks who are sons of elders are freed from evils and not bound or possessed by demonic spirits because the World-Honoured One explained how to cure the Duti ghost. In future ages, monks—after the Buddha's nirvāṇa, past a thousand years—will wish to teach monks, nuns, upāsakas, and upāsikās counting the breath in a quiet place and recollecting the samādhi of ānāpāna. If spirits, in order to disrupt the path, transform into the shapes of mice, either black or red, striking the practitioner's heart, scratching the practitioner's feet, hands, and ears, reaching everywhere; or make bird calls, or ghost groans, or whisper; or if there are fox spirits that take the form of brides with adorned bodies, massaging and adjusting the practitioner's body, preaching unwholesome teachings; or appear as dogs howling incessantly; or as eagles, vultures, or hundreds of kinds of birds making various sounds, whispering or crying loudly with varying voices; or as young children in rows of hundreds or thousands, in groups of ten or fifteen, or in ones, twos, and threes, making various noises and coming to the practitioner's place; or if one sees horseflies, flies, bugs, fleas, snakes, or vipers, either entering the ears like the buzzing of a queen bee, or entering the eyes like splashing curds and sand, or touching the heart to cause various disturbances, and because of this one goes mad, abandons the quiet place, and practices laxity—how should this be cured?"

2.65

The Buddha said to Ānanda: "Listen attentively, listen attentively, and reflect on it well; I will explain it for you.

2.66

"If there are members of the fourfold assembly afflicted by this ghost, you should explain for them the method for curing the ghost. This Duti ghost has sixty-three names. In the past, at the time of Kanakamuni Buddha, there was a monk on the verge of attaining srotāpanna who, due to wrong livelihood, was expelled by the Saṃgha; he died in anger and vowed to become a ghost, vexing and disturbing the fourfold assembly up to the present day. His lifespan is one kalpa; when the kalpa ends and his life ceases, he will fall into the Avīci hell. Today you should recognize his names, bind your mindfulness with a single mind, and not be disturbed by him."

2.67

At that time, the Bhagavat said: "Duti Duti is an evil yakṣa, also named the Dream Ghost. When one dreams of seeing it, one immediately emits semen; one should rise and repent: 'Duti has come. Because of my evil causes and conditions in the past, I have encountered this precept-breaking, harmful evil ghost; I now whip my mind and bind my sense faculties, not letting them become lax.'

2.68

"When such a spirit abides in space, it is called the Space Ghost; when between bed and mattress, it is called the Belly-Crawling Ghost. Furthermore, it has three names: one is Shensoka (pronounced sha-ju) Jiafu Qiuna Qiuni Zhili Fuxiu Fuxiu Amolejia Shahaohe; [it is also] the Fangdao Ghost, Chimeng Ghost, Wangliang Ghost, Pus-Eating Ghost, Spittle-Eating Ghost, Water Spirit Ghost, Fire Spirit Ghost, Mountain Spirit Ghost, Grove and Garden Spirit Ghost, Woman Ghost, Man Ghost, Young Boy Ghost, Young Girl Ghost, Kṣatriya Ghost, Brāhmaṇa Ghost, Vaiśya Ghost, Śūdra Ghost, Walking Ghost, Backward-Walking Ghost, Riding Ghost, Donkey-Eared Ghost, Tiger-Headed Ghost, Cat-Voiced Ghost, Dove Ghost, Screech-Owl-Voiced Ghost, Shijiao-Bird Ghost, Horned-Owl-Bird Ghost, or again transforming into spirits of the eight classes, the Depletion Ghost, Eight-Horned Ghost, White Mouse Ghost, Lotus-Colored Ghost, Fox Spirit Ghost, Demonic Ghost, Hundred-Insect Spirit Ghost, Four Evil Piśāca Ghosts, and Kumbhāṇḍa Ghost. Such ugly and evil spirits of sixty-three kinds are the names of this spirit.

2.69

"When the ghost causes disturbance, one should count the breath to make it extremely quiet, and should with utmost devotion recollect the seven Buddhas of the past, reciting the names of those Buddhas: Namo Vipaśyin Buddha, Śikhin Buddha, Tiṣya Buddha, Krakucchanda Buddha, Kanakamuni Buddha, Kāśyapa Buddha, and Śākyamuni Buddha. After reciting the names of those Buddhas, one should remember and hold the All-Sounds Dhāraṇī."

2.70

Then he spoke the mantra, saying:

2.72

"If anyone whose mind is distracted is deceived and disturbed by the Duti ghost—or if it creates various illusory realms—they should chant and uphold this dhāraṇī, the names of the seven Buddhas, and Maitreya Bodhisattva, and single-mindedly count the breath and recite the Prātimokṣa Sūtra one hundred times; these evil ghosts will each be subdued and will never vex or disturb the fourfold assembly practicing the path."

2.73

The Buddha said to Ānanda: "You must carefully uphold this method of purifying body, speech, and mind, subduing comportment, and expelling evil ghosts. For the sake of enabling the disciples of the four divisions to grow—causing them not to give rise to distracted thoughts and to attain entry into samādhi—you should properly receive and uphold it; be careful not to forget or lose it."

2.74

At that time, the Venerable Ānanda, having heard what the Buddha said, rejoiced and carried it out.

2.75

"Furthermore, Ānanda! If when a practitioner is sitting, they suffer from fullness in both ears, pain in bones and joints, itching in both palms, pain under both feet, an agitation under the heart moving to the neck, spasms in the tendons, and dizziness in the eyes, while at their sitting place a Pi-ghost comes to whisper, or scatters fragrant flowers creating various apparitions, one must treat it swiftly.

2.76

"The method for curing it is as follows: first, one should contemplate the two bodhisattvas, Bhaiṣajyarāja and Bhaiṣajyasamudgata, holding golden vases in their hands and taking the water to pour over him. Next, one should again contemplate the spirit king of the Snow Mountains holding a single white flower, going to where the practitioner is, and placing it over the crown of his head. White light flows in and moistens the pores of his body, which immediately become pliable, with no other abnormal signs. Then, one again sees Jīva Kumāra holding rishi flowers and scattering them over the practitioner; between each and every flower rain down various wonderful medicines that moisten the pores. All numbness, pain, and itching, all manner of sufferings and pains, sounds and whispered voices, and the various ghosts and spirits are completely and utterly exhausted without remainder.

2.77

"Bhaiṣajyarāja Bodhisattva and Bhaiṣajyasamudgata Bodhisattva explain to him the impartial Mahāyāna teachings; the spirit kings of the Fragrant Mountains and the Snow Mountains, all spirit kings, and Jīva Kumāra also, in accordance with his faculties, explain to him the various twelve doors of dhyāna, medicinal broths suited to his sicknesses, medical formulas, and incantations. Because of this, he comes to see Venerable Piṇḍola, all the arhats, five hundred śrāmaṇeras such as Cundaka, and the like, all coming at once to where the practitioner is, each śrāvaka explaining various methods for curing sickness.

2.78

"Some arhats, in accordance with what the Buddha taught, instruct this bhikṣu to hollow out the crown of his head, making it gradually empty, until his whole body is entirely empty, and to pour oil into it; Brahmā holds medicine—this medicine is golden in colour—and pours it into the body to fill it; and the bodhisattva King of Medicine explains various teachings. If he arouses the resolve of a śrāvaka, he attains srotāpanna in accordance with what Piṇḍola taught; if he arouses the Mahāyāna resolve, he immediately attains the pratyutpanna-buddha-sammukhāvasthita-samādhi in accordance with what the two bodhisattvas Bhaiṣajyarāja and Bhaiṣajyasamudgata taught."

2.79

The Buddha said to Ānanda: "After the Buddha's parinirvāṇa, if disciples of the four assemblies wish to sit in meditation, they should first sit upright in silence for seven days, and then cultivate the mind through counting the breath for seven days. Furthermore, they should take these sickness-dispelling medicines and the like, dispel sounds and remove numbness, steady the mind and guard intention, cultivate the mind and cultivate the body, and harmonize the elements so as not to miss the proper time. Wholeheartedly and single-mindedly, they must not violate minor precepts or proper deportment; regarding the precepts they uphold, they should protect them as they would their eyes, just as a gravely sick person follows the instructions of a skilled physician. The practitioner should do likewise, following and repeatedly increasing them without letting them decline or be lost, as if extinguishing a fire on one's head, complying with the words of the worthy and holy. This is called curing sickness by taking medicine that warms the body."

2.80

The Buddha told Ānanda: "Accept and uphold this well, and be careful not to forget it."

2.81

At that time, Venerable Ānanda, having heard what the Buddha said, rejoiced and practiced accordingly.

2.82

Secret Essential Methods for Curing Meditation Sickness, Fascicle Two

2.83

Postscript

2.84

The paternal cousin of the King of Hexi, the upāsaka Great Juqu, Marquis of Anyang, [studied under] the Indian bhikṣu and Mahāyāna śramaṇa Buddhasena at the Vajra araṇya dwelling of the Gomatī Mahāvihāra in the kingdom of Khotan. That man was extraordinarily gifted, peerless throughout the kingdom, and could recite fifty thousand gāthās from memory; he was also thoroughly versed in the methods of dhyāna, widely learned in both Buddhist and non-Buddhist texts, and proficient in every scripture, so that the people of the world all called him 'the lion among men!' Juqu personally received instruction from him face-to-face, memorizing and reciting it without impediment. On the eighth day of the ninth month in the second year of the Xiaojian reign era, he wrote out this sūtra at the Bamboo Grove Monastery, finishing on the twenty-fifth day of that month.

Linked texts (1)

治禪病祕要法 — Classical Chinese